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Watch Your Language!
Read about Peter in Matthew 26:69-75; and also read Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, pages 66 to 69.
Look up these words in the dictionary and fill in the blanks below.
- Curse
- Swear
- Oath
_____ is a swearword, obscenity, or blasphemous oath.
_____ means to use blasphemous or obscene language, usually an expression of strong feelings or with the intention of giving offense.
_____ is a swearword that uses the name of God.
Read these texts from the Bible and Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing.
Then give at least three reasons why we shouldn’t curse.
Exodus 20: 7 – “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name” (NIV).
Matthew 5:33-37 – “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one” (NIV).
James 5:12 – “Above all, my brothers, do not swear—both by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, or you will be condemned” (NIV).
Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p. 66
What do you think about cursing? Should we worry about cursing today? How often do we hear cursing in our daily lives? Write your feelings on the lines below.
What do you think caused Peter to curse? Read Matthew 26:31-35 & 69-75.
“He [Peter] thought himself able to withstand temptation, but in a few short hours the test came, and with cursing and swearing he denied his Lord. . . .
“If he had been called to fight for his Master, he would have been a courageous soldier, but when the finger of scorn was pointed at him, he proved himself a coward. Many who do not shrink from active warfare for their Lord are driven by ridicule to deny their faith. . . .
“It was through self sufficiency that Peter fell; and it was through repentance and humiliation that his feet were again established” (Conflict and Courage, p. 321).
What makes you want to curse?
What do you think makes people want to curse now days?
Answer the following questions after you have read the passage for today from Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, pp. 67 and 68.
What two things does Jesus say our speech should be?
What is as transparent as sunlight?
What four things prevent our right understanding?
WHAT DOES IT HURT?
“Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me” . . . right? Or wrong? In fact, words are powerful; anyone who’s been on the wrong side of a name-calling bully or had a so-called friend insult him or her knows that. What about swear words? We all know they’re supposed to be bad, wrong, or dirty—but why? We live in a world where everybody’s doing it. And Jesus’ name is just as common as “Oh, wow!” So does it really matter what we say? You bet it does! But it’s not always easy for Christian teens to go against the flow and use clean language when the air around is full of curse words.
It matters because we represent God’s kingdom in this world, and everything we day or do reflects on Him. Rather than being the casual word we use when we drop a book on our feet, the name of God is the banner we march under, the label we’re known by. That means that not just casual use of God’s name, but any language that is degrading, insulting, or offensive should never be heard on the lips of God’s kingdom agents.
WHAT ELSE DOES GOD SAY ABOUT THIS?
Look up these texts and use them to answer the questions below.
James 3:5-10
1 Peter 3:9
Colossians 4:6
Matthew 12:34-37
Ecclesiastes 5:2
Psalm 19:14
- If you would love life and see good days, what must you do?
- Will God hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name?
- Should our conversation cut others down?
- In God’s sight, what should our words be?
- How many words should we use?
- How are the tongue and fire alike?
- Will we have to give account to our words?
“Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
“All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be” (James 3:5-10, NIV).
If you’ve made the commitment to be part of God’s kingdom, then God expects your speech to reflect that. Can you make a commitment to stop using God’s name in vain, and to stop using swear words that reflect values of a kingdom different from God’s?
It’s not always easy, especially when the air around you is full of swear words. Clearing the air may be your first step. If you’re always exposed to friends who swear, if you listen to TV and music full of swear words, it’s hard not to start using those same words yourself. You may have to change some of your listening habits in order to change your speech habits.
Think about the words you hear in the media and what they really reflect. You love Jesus—why use His name only as a curse or an exclamation? What about “swearing lite” words such as gee (for Jesus), or gosh (for God)? They may seem too insignificant to bother with—most people don’t even consider them real swearing. But nothing is insignificant to an agent of God’s kingdom. Many swear words are used mainly to reflect anger, hatred, and insults. Clean up your act, and clean up your language. Fill you mind with God’s words, and let your words show that you’re His child.
“Christ treats anger as murder. . . . Passionate words are a savor of death unto death. He who utters them is not cooperating with God to save his fellow man.
In heaven this wicked railing is placed in the same list as common swearing. While hatred is cherished in the soul there is not one iota of the love of God there” (Our High Calling, p. 235).
Read Colossians 4:6 and Ephesians 4:29.
What type of communication should come from the Christian’s mouth?
“‘Let your speech be Yea, yea: Nay, nay: and whatsoever is more than these is of the evil one’” (RV).
“These words condemn all those meaningless phrases and expletives that border on profanity. They condemn the deceptive compliments, the evasion of truth, the flattering phrases, the exaggerations, the misrepresentations in trade, that are current in society and in the business world. They teach that no one who tries to appear what he is not, or whose words do not convey the real sentiment of his heart, can be called truthful” (Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p. 68).
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Think about the way you talk. Is swearing a problem for you? If it is and you’d like to change that, choose three words you want to stop saying (there may be more than three, but let’s start small!), and write them on the lines below. Then write a one-sentence prayer to God asking for His Spirit to stop you and remind you before you speak these words.
Maybe you don’t swear. Good for you! Are there other things in your speech (unkind words, quick temper, and gossip) that need to be changed? Or maybe you want to use your words in a more positive ways (encouraging others, saying kind things). On the lines below, write a short one- or two-line prayer asking God to help you make these changes.